[SOA] Anthony W. C. Phelps 1931-2005

Tue, 2 Aug 2005 17:17:55 -0400

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Anthony W. C. Phelps, a well-known Cleveland archivist, died yesterday =
morning (August 1).  He had been diagnosed in early June with lung =
cancer.  Tony will be greatly missed by the Cleveland archival =
community, as he has been a constant presence in Cleveland ever since =
the late 1950s, and most people were not aware that he was ill. =20

Mr. Phelps was born in 1931 as a subject of the British crown, the scion =
of an old English family which he proudly stated had survived centuries =
of recusancy.  He was a representative of the old-world gentry and was =
at odds with many trends in the modern world.  He was so incensed at the =
'carnival of bad taste' after the death of Princess Diana that he =
requested that no public notice be given at his own death.  He used the =
Cleveland bus system to get around and was a familiar sight with his =
folding cane-stool.

Tony was the archivist for the Rowfant Club, a men's club for book =
lovers located in downtown Cleveland which has a rich collection of =
archives as well as an outstanding library of rare books.  He had =
previously been at the Western Reserve Historical Society for many =
years.  He was an expert in heraldry and was in communication with other =
heraldic experts around the world, including many members of the Royal =
College of Arms in London.  He was a longstanding member of the Heraldry =
Committee of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, which in the =
absence of a formal structure to grant arms, has been  the closest thing =
to a college of arms in this country.  He devised arms for many =
corporate entities and individuals both in the Cleveland area and across =
the country, including clergy and many Catholic and Episcopal dioceses =
and parishes, as well as other churches.  He was a devout Catholic and =
wrote the history of several parishes, including St. Francis of Assisi =
and most recently St. Ignatius of Antioch.  He was on the diocesan =
commission on sacred arts, which is making a survey of all the art =
objects owned by the Diocese of Cleveland.

He designed a coat of arms for CAR, the Cleveland Archival Roundtable =
(which he helped to found), that incorporates a visually punning =
reference to a car wheel, as well as billets representing paper =
documents or bytes of information coming out of the darkness into the =
light.  Tony had a wry sense of humor, and when CAR members chose him as =
treasurer (the organization's only formally elected officer), he changed =
the title to "Chancellor of the Exchequer," and members accordingly =
voted him this office. He served for many years in this capacity and =
always had a minutely detailed account of finances at the meetings.

The funeral will be held Thursday, August 4, at 7 PM at St. Ignatius of =
Antioch Church, located at the corner of West Boulevard and Lorain =
Avenue in Cleveland.  A reception will follow.

For further information contact the CAR Steering Committee, Cleveland, =
Ohio  (Fred Lautzenheiser will field messages at lautzef@ccf.org).

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<TITLE>Anthony W. C. Phelps 1931-2005</TITLE>
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Anthony W. C. Phelps, a =
well-known Cleveland archivist, died yesterday morning (August 1).&nbsp; =
He had been diagnosed in early June with lung cancer.&nbsp; Tony will be =
greatly missed by the Cleveland archival community, as he has been a =
constant presence in Cleveland ever since the late 1950s, and most =
people were not aware that he was ill.&nbsp;

Mr. Phelps was born in 1931 =
as a subject of the British crown, the scion of an old English family =
which he proudly stated had survived centuries of recusancy.&nbsp; He =
was a representative of the old-world gentry and was at odds with many =
trends in the modern world.&nbsp; He was so incensed at the =
&#8216;carnival of bad taste&#8217; after the death of Princess Diana =
that he requested that no public notice be given at his own death.&nbsp; =
He used the Cleveland bus system to get around and was a familiar sight =
with his folding cane-stool.

Tony was the archivist for =
the Rowfant Club, a men&#8217;s club for book lovers located in downtown =
Cleveland which has a rich collection of archives as well as an =
outstanding library of rare books.&nbsp; He had previously been at the =
Western Reserve Historical Society for many years.&nbsp; He was an =
expert in heraldry and was in communication with other heraldic experts =
around the world, including many members of the Royal College of Arms in =
London.&nbsp; He was a longstanding member of the Heraldry Committee of =
the New England Historic Genealogical Society, which in the absence of a =
formal structure to grant arms, has been&nbsp; the closest thing to a =
college of arms in this country.&nbsp; He devised arms for many =
corporate entities and individuals both in the Cleveland area and across =
the country, including clergy and many Catholic and Episcopal dioceses =
and parishes, as well as other churches.&nbsp; He was a devout Catholic =
and wrote the history of several parishes, including St. Francis of =
Assisi and most recently St. Ignatius of Antioch.&nbsp; He was on the =
diocesan commission on sacred arts, which is making a survey of all the =
art objects owned by the Diocese of Cleveland.

He designed a coat of arms =
for CAR, the Cleveland Archival Roundtable (which he helped to found), =
that incorporates a visually punning reference to a car wheel, as well =
as billets representing paper documents or bytes of information coming =
out of the darkness into the light.&nbsp; Tony had a wry sense of humor, =
and when CAR members chose him as treasurer (the organization&#8217;s =
only formally elected officer), he changed the title to =
&#8220;Chancellor of the Exchequer,&#8221; and members accordingly voted =
him this office. He served for many years in this capacity and always =
had a minutely detailed account of finances at the meetings.

The funeral will be held =
Thursday, August 4, at 7 PM at St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, located =
at the corner of West Boulevard and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland.&nbsp; A =
reception will follow.

<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Times New Roman">For further information =
contact the CAR Steering Committee, Cleveland, Ohio&nbsp; (Fred =
Lautzenheiser will field messages at lautzef@ccf.org).</FONT></P>

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